This invention relates generally to fluorescent lamps and more particularly to T8 fluorescent lamps that can be operated at increased power levels.
T8 fluorescent lamps have found widespread acceptability in the North American market for a variety of applications. The designation “T8” is indicative of the fact that the lamps have a nominal outer diameter of one inch. That is to say that the outer diameter of the lamp (one inch) is equal to eight increments of one-eighth inch each. Typically, T8 lamps are linear in shape and have a length of forty-eight inches, although the lamps can be nonlinear and have lengths other than forty-eight inches. Thus, T8 lamps can be circular or otherwise curvilinear in shape and be two, three, six or eight feet in length for example.
Commercially available T8 fluorescent lamps in their variety of applications are commonly operated at wattage or power levels of less than about thirty-five watts. Examples of T8 fluorescent lamps operated at such power levels are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,400,097, 6,650,042 and 6,583,566. There are, however, certain applications such as, for example, applications at stage and studio environments where commercially available T8 fluorescent lamps operated at such power levels do not satisfy all the lighting requirements that pertain to those environments.